There are no lazy days of summer

Many of my friends — too many in my opinion — will be showered with thousands of dollars this summer, despite the fact that our hours are likely to be the same. How is it that the work done at Goldman Sachs is made out to be that much more important than the kind of work done at any self-respecting nonprofit? We're calling organizations to coordinate food relief; they're calling organizations to discuss fluctuations in the bond market. I don't see the difference.

My internship for summer 2006 was through the Princeton Class of 1969 Community Service Fund, which provides 10-week summer internships at various nonprofits. I worked for a newsmagazine, doing all of the grunt work a first year staff writer is destined to do at any professional print publication. I edited, fact-checked, transcribed, interviewed and reported my way through the summer. Eventually, two separate articles of mine were published in back-to-back issues of the magazine. I made a decent amount of money, but the most rewarding part of my internship was the rich insight I received into a professional culture that has long gripped my interest.

In contrast, many of my friends, even some here at Old Nassau, found themselves unprepared when summer came around. They placed little thought into that three-month interlude of sunny days, explaining that they simply wanted to "wait it out" and see what happens. This, of course, equaled a summer of "hanging" with high school friends and perhaps a part-time (or full-time if they were really ambitious) job at their neighborhood Wal-Mart or H&M clothing store. So, while some of my friends gained a wealth of insight into a variety of industries, others gained expertise in the art of the cash register, the good, the bad and ugly of customer relations, and other repetitive tasks bearing little fruit for the mind.

As a former cashier, I can say that this is no way for college-educated individuals to spend their summer. Only one-fourth of Americans end up with a four-year college degree, and for those select few who attain one, they almost automatically get inducted into the nation's economic and political elite. There are, of course, disparities on the power scale, but for the rest of their lives, they are more likely to be involved in their local politics than most. And, more often than not, they will be solicited to take on a larger role in community leadership wherever they happen to hail from.

Winston Churchill said that the price of greatness was responsibility, and this could never be truer than in the case of making summer plans. The summer months during your college years add up to about one year of your life. This time is best spent working toward something that will contribute to your wisdom and in the future, the wisdom of others. Young men and women preparing to become leaders in their community have little latitude to waste such a significant amount of time on activities that fail to enrich their understanding of the world. Whether you're working in the corporate universe or volunteering at the local YMCA, know that each minute spent doing something of substance will result in a future decision backed by that much more insight to support it.

Many view their undergraduate years as the time providing the greatest incentive to tackle activities that both lie outside of our usual interests and cause the least amount of detriment for our future career goals. The former I believe is correct; the latter ignores basic rules of opportunity costs learned in any introductory economics course. We give up something for every choice we make, and sooner or later, our bad choices strike us between the eyes whether or not we're prepared. Ten years from now, it will be an inability to fluidly communicate with your international business partner because you decided not to study Japanese in the summer of 2007. Perhaps in 2012, you will be a first-year litigator woefully unprepared to tackle a case dealing with abused adolescents. You passed up an opportunity to work at a children's hospital that summer and, instead, typed numbers into Excel for some Mickey Mouse corporation.

The possibilities are endless, and that reality should serve as motivation for anyone dragging his or her feet on making his or her summer plans worthwhile. Most students aren't as well connected as students here at the University, but almost all students can do a little bit more in finding work suitable for a leader-in-training. By raging against the lazy days of summer, you will further enrich the lives of each person you encounter, from one social or professional sphere to the next. David Smart is a sophomore from Los Angeles, Calif. He can be reached at dsmart@princeton.edu.